Index climbs despite weak leads

Page Tools

The market closes in on its record high, with oil prices down and
commodities up.

THE sharemarket has moved up strongly and is again in sight of
record territory.

Investors ignored an uninspiring lead from US markets and bought
mining and building stocks to push the S&P/ASX 200 Index up

23.3 points to 4495.1  19.2 points off the intraday record
set on September 2.

ABN Amro Morgans senior client adviser Simon Ferguson said the
market had enjoyed a very positive day despite few obvious
leads.

"There was not a strong lead from America," he said. "Oil stocks
were just a bit weaker on the price of crude falling, but commodity
prices had a good night in London, which saw the mining sector
rise.

"The mood is very positive. On the back of a strong reporting
season investors are still pretty confident."

In the wake of hurricane Katrina, Rinker, the biggest
supplier of cement blocks in the US, was still in demand. It put on
29¢ to $15.37.

Among the major miners, BHP Billiton rose 27¢ to
$20.47 and Rio Tinto gained 64¢ to $51.91.

Copper surged 2.5 per cent in New York overnight as inventories
declined, and JPMorgan Chase & Co said iron ore prices might
stay at record levels next year as global demand continued to
outstrip supply of the steel-making raw material. This reversed its
previous forecast of a 5 per cent fall.

"BHP and Rio are two stocks that not too many people are
prepared to bet against for as long as metals prices keep going
up," said Jamie Spiteri, head dealer at Shaw Stockbroking in
Sydney. He said the index was "close to the top still, so investors
tend to pour money into the stocks with more earnings
certainty".

Portman fell 10¢ to $4.05 despite posting a
record

first-half net profit.

Woodside fell 31¢ to $31.68 after crude oil prices
declined for a third day, and the company said it failed to find
oil or gas at a well off Mauritania. Cooper Energy dipped
2¢ to 37¢. The oil producer and explorer said its record
annual net profit would allow it to continue looking for growth
opportunities overseas.

In the big banks, National Australia Bank rose 27¢
to $31.66, ANZ was steady at $22.65, Commonwealth
hovered at $37.50 and Westpac slipped 8¢ to $20.31.

In the media sector, News Corp's non-voting stock
weakened 9¢ to $21.09 and the voting scrip eased 3¢ to
$22.35.

Among the retailers, Coles Myer rose 17¢ to $10.19
as Woolworths backtracked 4¢ to $16.08.

Among the telcos, Telstra was 4¢ higher at
$4.34.

BlueScope firmed 2¢ to $9.82 after it said a recent
fire at its Western Port steel plant could cost it up to $50
million.

McGuigan Simeon Wines sagged 23¢ to $4.37 after
saying it expected net profit for 2005-06 to be sluggish due to
unfavourable market conditions.

In the gold sector, Newmont rose 3¢ to $5.48, and
Newcrest firmed 2¢ to $18.27. The gold price was down
$US2.28 an ounce at $US447.87 at the close of Sydney trading.

Page Tools

SPONSORED LINKS

More news

1126377313352-theage.com.auhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/business/index-climbs-despite-weak-leads/2005/09/13/1126377313352.htmltheage.com.auAgencies2005-09-14Index climbs despite weak leads<b>Shares</b><br />Trevor ChappellThe market closes in on its record high, with oil prices down and
commodities up.BusinessBusinessNews